High Line, Part II, Opens

A slide show of photographs of the second part of New York's High Line, an elevated garden built on an abandoned railroad track, with gardens designed by Piet Oudolf and landscape architecture by James Corner. The second part of the High Line opened June 8, 2011, bringing the completed garden to a mile long, with a third part to open in the future.

Philip A. and Lisa Maria Falcone FlyoverBetween West 25th and West 26th Streets, adjacent buildings create a microclimate that once cultivated a dense grove of tall shrubs and trees. Now, a metal walkway rises eight feet above the High Line, allowing groundcover plants to blanket the undulating terrain below, and carrying visitors upward, into a canopy of sumac and magnolia trees. At various points, overlooks branch off the walkway, creating opportunities to pause and enjoy views of the plantings below and the city beyond.

At West 29th Street, the High Line begins a long, gentle curve toward the Hudson River, signifying a transition to the West Side Rail Yards. The High Line’s pathway echoes the curve, and a long bank of wooden benches sweep westward along the edge of the pathway. Planting beds behinds and in front of the benches line the curve with greenery.

Hovering above the historic rail on the east side of the High Line at West 26th Street, the Viewing Spur’s frame is meant to recall the billboards that were once attached to the High Line. Now the frame enhances, rather than blocks, views of the city. Tall shrubs and trees flank the Viewing Spur’s frame, while a platform with wood benches invites visitors to sit and enjoy views of 10th Avenue and Chelsea.

Wildflower FieldBetween West 26th and West 29th Streets, the landscape of the Wildflower Field is dominated by hardy, drought-resistance grasses and wildflowers, and features a mix of species that ensures variation in blooms throughout the growing season. The simplicity of the straight walkway, running alongside the wildflowers interspersed between the original railroad tracks, allows visitors to appreciate the green axis of the High Line, as it moves through the city.

Near the northern terminus of Section 2, the pathway curves west toward the Hudson River, and slowly rises above an area where the concrete decking has been removed, showcasing the strength of the High Line’s steel frame. The pathway leads to a viewing platform that hovers above the Cut-Out, allowing visitors to peer down through the grating and grid of steel beams and girders to the traffic passing below on West 30th Street.